00:00Napier Barracks in the Kent town of Folkestone is home to around 400 asylum seekers, many
00:06of whom have taken dangerous journeys to get to the U.K.
00:10We spoke to men from Colombia, Benin, Afghanistan, Jordan and Palestine, all who said they were
00:15escaping dangerous situations at home but did not want to speak on camera.
00:20In August, the far-right group Britain First staged a protest, part of a series of anti-migrant
00:25demonstrations and counter-protests seen across the U.K.
00:28Lots of support here in Folkestone today.
00:33The flat beaches of southern Kent stretch for miles, giving ample opportunity for small
00:38boats to land.
00:39And it's this area of the country that has seen the biggest number of migrant boat arrivals
00:44due to its proximity to France.
00:47By the beginning of this month, over 21,400 people had crossed the channel in small boats,
00:53a rise on the previous year with 39 deaths recorded.
00:56When I see tragedies at sea, I just can't bear it, but at the same time I look at where
01:04we need money in the U.K. and the NHS is struggling.
01:07It's more my concern that there are children and people in need needing help and that's
01:11not being addressed.
01:12So for me it's more that there should be more to be done to support people.
01:18The reality is that we could be speeding up the process and actually as a country taking
01:23advantage of the talent, the skills and the motivation of the people that have travelled
01:28the way they have travelled to get here.
01:30Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to smash the people smuggling gangs and speed up the
01:35processing of asylum applications.
01:38But charities are impatient for more action.
01:41Some of the victims of this week's tragedy were from Eritrea, a journey Rishan Sagai
01:46took ten years ago at the age of 16.
01:49It's sad to be able to see it's become like a Netflix series movie that we always like
01:54have an episode of continuous people dying and nothing is being sorted.
02:00So what changes would you like to see?
02:02We tend to emphasise the humanitarian visa for people to seek safety in the U.K.
02:07For example Eritrean, and then you've got Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq and all these
02:12countries there are 98% that are granted asylum in the U.K. and why is this not being presented?
02:20Mohanan has been at Napier Barracks for two months, having fled Rafah in Gaza after his
02:25father and brother were killed.
02:27He was smuggled in a lorry from Egypt.
02:30So would he warn others against making that journey?
02:33He told me no, if people are suffering in war then the U.K. offers security and freedom.
02:38Catherine Drew, CGTN, in Folkestone, Kent.
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